The Henson Journals

[125]

1st Sunday after Epiphany, January 13th, 1924.

O Lord, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people which call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

A boisterous night with wind and rain led in a stormy dawn. I revised my notes for the sermon at Beamish. At 9.15 a.m. I left the castle with Clayton and Ernest, and motored to Durham where I dropped Ernest and picked up Wilson. We motored to Beamish and arrived at 10.20 a.m. There was a large congregation, and many communicants. I preached my sermon, which was very closely followed, and admitted Squance to his charge. After service we lunched at the Vicarage, and then returned to Auckland, dropping Wilson & picking up Ernest at Durham. We were back in the Castle by 3.30 p.m.

A railway strike is stated to be imminent, & a strike of miners not far distant. The elements of disaffection are raising their heads everywhere at the prospect of a Labour Government. Arthur Shadwell's letter in yesterday's "Times" discloses the anxiety of an unusually well–informed and well–balanced mind. I doubt the wisdom of letting the knaves get their hands on to the levers of executive powers.

[126]

I finished Starling's book on "The Action of Alcohol on Man". It claims to treat the subject "from the purely scientific standpoint", and although the argument is relieved by expressions of opinion which seem to indicate something more than the cold impersonal interest of pure science: it cannot fairly be said that the method is not genuinely scientific. The conclusion arrived at is that which ordinary sensible men instinctively adopt. The consumption of alcoholic beverages is wholesome & even beneficial in moderation: in excess it is wholly bad. This is only the judgement of St Paul confirmed by the experience of uninspired humanity: "Every creature of God and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer". The learned author is decisive against Prohibition. In a short Preface he speaks plainly on the point: the evidence "has convinced me that in a civilized society such as ours the abolition of all alcoholic beverages from among our own midst, even if carried out by universal consent, would be a mistake and contrary to the permanent interest of the race. If it were enforced by legislation against the wishes & convictions of a large proportion of the members of the community, I believe it would be little short of a calamity. While it wd not result in the long run in the improvement of national health & efficiency, it wd diminish that respect for the Law & that identification of self with the Law which are essential for the stability and welfare of a democracy".

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